The man accused of attacking and killing his former boss with a hatchet was arrested Tuesday night in Kentucky.

Police said Domenic Micheli was arrested by Kentucky State Police on Interstate 65 near Bowling Green.

A driver called KSP after recognizing Micheli in the northbound lanes near mile marker 3 just after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Officers responded and found the vehicle at mile marker 29 in Warren County. The officers stopped Micheli, who was arrested without incident and taken to the Warren County Regional Jail.

Micheli is accused of fatally stabbing his former supervisor at a gym near Belle Meade on Monday morning.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, 46-year-old Joel Paavola was attacked with a hatchet around 7 a.m. Monday at Balance Training at the Belle Meade Galleria shopping center. Witnesses said three people were inside the gym when the stabbing happened.

Witnesses told police that Micheli, armed with a hatchet and another bladed instrument in each hand, struck Paavola multiple times before fleeing.

Police say less than 90 minutes after the murder, Micheli visited an urgent care business in Gallatin. He was reportedly limping due to an injury to his left leg.

Micheli requested a suture kit but was told they were not sold there. About an hour later, Micheli went to a Gallatin drug store and purchased medical items.

Detectives said Paavola owned and operated Balance Training and fired Micheli 14 months ago. Friends of Paavola told News4 that Micheli showed signs of paranoia and would post long rants on Facebook.

Police learned Micheli had been traveling outside of Tennessee recently. He was known to have been in Oregon in August 2017 and in Washington, D.C., in April 2018. Micheli was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service on April 27, 2018, for driving his car to a checkpoint near the White House and refusing directives to move, according to police.

Micheli is charged with fugitive from another state in Kentucky and is charged with criminal homicide in Nashville.

Paavola leaves behind a wife and five children. A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of Paavola's family.

BREAKING: Accused murderer Domenic Micheli arrested a short time ago by Kentucky State Police on I-65 near Bowling Green. He was driving the Toyota Prius. MNPD detectives en route to Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/k8ixmeFshn— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) June 6, 2018

Tags

Locations

Kara is an Emmy Award-winning digital producer. She is a Cincinnati native and an alumna of the University of South Carolina. She previously worked at WRDW-TV in Augusta, Ga., before moving to Nashville five years ago to work at WSMV-TV.

Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.